Mumbai: Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Central Railway has recorded a threefold rise in cases of sticking advertisement bills illegally inside local trains. These bills were found to be more related to provide promising jobs and private loans to people.

The persons involved in pasting these bills usually operate during the night when the train moves to the car shed after the day’s operation. These people are active during the period between 2am to 5am when the trains are not in service.

RPF officials usually conduct a crackdown during the night when the persons enter the trains to stick the bills.

RPF officials have conducted a crackdown against such illegal advertisement bills and recorded at least 445 cases till March this year. The officials collected a total fine amount of Rs 3.7 lakh in the same period. The number of cases rose from 116 registered in the same period last year and yielded a total fine of Rs 1.01 lakh.

Last year, the high court collected a minimum fine of Rs 1,000 per bill against the persons who pasted them inside the local trains. The persons who illegally paste these bills are prosecuted under the section 166 of the Indian Railway Act.

“At least six people were jailed till March this year and at least 38 were jailed last year in the same period,” said Sachin Bhalode, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner of Central Railway (CR).

In 2015, the Mumbai Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Western Railway arrested a self-proclaimed baba identified as Farooq Mohammad from Meerut for duping people after claiming to have divine power to solve their problems.

The accused had allegedly hired few persons to put up posters in the railway coaches of the local trains for the same.